Introduction: Some
months ago I asked a group of college students to identify the great questions
of life.† I, of course, hoped to enhance
the studentsí appreciation of history by encouraging them to think about the
most important issues in life.† Frankly,
I entered this class project with great optimism, certain that the young people
would construct an impressive list of questions.† My young scholars, confronted with my
challenge, quickly engaged in an animated discussion about lowering the legal
drinking age in the state of Texas!† That was the most important question in life,
for this group of young people!† Well, my
project did not work very well.

I tell my students that one of lifeís most important skills
centers on learning to ask the right questions.†
They will never, I remind them, find the right answers if they donít
identify the right questions.† Genesis
does that.† From the first verse of this
majestic book, the reader encounters the great issues of life. One by one, the
unfolding story of Genesis addresses these important questions.

††††††††††† -Does God
exist?

††††††††††† -How did
the world come to exist?

††††††††††† -How did
humankind come into existence?

††††††††††† -Why did
God create man?†

††††††††††† -If God
did create the world, what can we know about God from his creation? †††† -How can evil exist in a world created by a
good, all-powerful God?

Genesis One and Two indicate the following propositions:

††††††††††† -God
created the world.

††††††††††† -The
creation account reveals Godís power and goodness.†

††††††††††† -This
powerful and good God created a world of perfect goodness and blessing.

As one reads through Chapter Two, Adam and Eve are content,
fulfilled, innocent, blessed, and enjoyed a wholesome, happy marriage
relationship.† Chapters Three and Four,
however, reveal a different world: temptation, lust, rebellion, shame, guilt,
curse, jealousy, murder, violence, polygamy, and fear.† How did this happen?

Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, co-authors of Handbook of Christian Apologetics,
identify the presence of evil as the apparent proof of atheism.† Atheists assert that the presence of evil in
the world demonstrates that a good, omnipotent God could not create a world
full of moral (i.e. the immoral actions of humans) and physical evil (i.e. the
undeserved suffering of illness or natural catastrophes).† The presence of evil, atheists often claim,
demonstrates that a powerful, benevolent God does not exist.† This, in my judgment, is a powerful question,
and Christians should take seriously the objections of thoughtful people who
confront the faith with penetrating issues like this.†

These two chapters shed light on this dilemma.† God created the world without the presence of
moral or physical evil, but he also fashioned man with the freedom to make
moral choices.† In his infinite wisdom
God determined to allow the possibility of evil, and he deemed it good that man
should freely and willingly obey Godís directives.† Manís free obedience (an essential element of
genuine love) was part of the goodness of Godís creation. Our first parents
chose poorly and opened the door for all manner of moral and practical evil in
the world.† Their choice had catastrophic
consequences for the entire created order, and we still see these consequences
at work today.

This story, as told in Genesis Three and Four, is simple and
straightforward; yet, any thoughtful reader confronts some difficult
interpretive problems.† Some have
addressed these problems by interpreting allegorically the story of the Fall.
The allegorists might ask if readers should interpret literally the story of a
serpent engaging in an extended theological conversation with a naked woman, in
the paradise of Eden.† How seriously should modern readers take an
account that traces the evolution of evil to the sin of a single man,
Adam?† I respect and sympathize with
those who thoughtfully wrestle with such problems; however, lest we jettison
the traditional, historical interpretation of the Fall too quickly, the New
Testament clearly indicates the historical nature of this story.† The Apostle Paul traced the entrance of evil
in the world to the rebellious act of Adam.†
Indeed, the apostle referred to Jesus as the second Adam (See I Corinthians
15:22), indicating that the first Adam was a historical figure, in some way,
comparable to Jesus.

Outline of the
Background Passage:

I.The Fall of Man (3:1-24)

A.The
temptation of Eve (vv. 1-7)

1.The
serpent: The serpent enters the narrative without introduction, and the text
makes clear that this creature owed its existence to God.† The ancient world viewed serpents in a
variety of ways.† Sometimes the ancients
saw snakes as a symbol of wisdom (Remember that Jesus warned his disciples to
be ďwise as serpentsĒ). Others saw snakes as the epitome of deceit and
evil.† The Reformation Study Bible asserts that Satan took the form of a
serpent and approached Eve with this fatal temptation.

2.Eve:
We have no idea how much time transpired between the creation of Eve and the
temptation in the garden.† Eve engaged in
a speculative discussion with the snake, a conversation that included three
elements: the serpentís question about the Lordís command concerning the fruit
of the tree, Eveís exaggeration of Godís command (ďneither shall you touch
itĒ), and the serpentís aspersion on the goodness of God.

3.Adam:
The man almost seems incidental to the story.†
Ken Matthews surmises that Adam overheard the conversation between the
serpent and Eve; then, Eve gave the forbidden fruit to Adam, and he ate (v.6). Both
the man and the woman realized they were naked and sewed together figs leaves
to cover their shame.

II.The Consequences of the Fall (3:8-24)

A.Godís
inquiry and manís excuses (vv. 8-13): The text, of course, takes some literary
liberty with its description of God walking in the garden.† These anthropomorphic images portray God in
very human terms.† He walks in the cool
of the day, seeks the concealed couple, and questions Adam and Eve about their
actions.† The fallen couple engaged in a
shameful ďblame gameĒ as they sought to deflect responsibility for their sin.
Adam blamed Eve (and, in a sense, God), and Eve indicted the serpent.

B.The
Three-fold curse (vv. 14-19)

1.the
serpent (vv. 14-15): The Lord consigned the serpent to go on its belly and eat
the dust of the earth.† Furthermore, enmity
would forever exist between the woman and the snake, an enmity that would
eventually culminate in the crushing of the serpentís head by the seed of the
woman.

2.the
woman (vv. 16-16): God determined to multiply birth pangs for women, and, in
turn the womanís desire, from that moment on, would be to their husbands.† As a result of the Fall, power struggles tear
apart families, and these rivalries can only be remedied by the transforming
grace of Christ.

3.the
man (vv. 17-19): God cursed the ground because of Adam, and arduous labor has
characterized manís life since the Fall.†
Also, God reminded Adam of the consequence of sin.† The man would die and return to the dust.

C.Expulsion
from the garden (vv. 20-24): After clothing the sinful couple in animal skins, God
expelled them from the garden and set an angelic guard prohibiting access to
the tree of life.

III.Human Life in the Aftermath of the Fall (4:1-26)

A.Cain
and Abel (vv. 1-16)

1.the
births of the brothers (vv. 1-2): In time, Adam and Eve produced two sons, Cain
and Abel.† Cain, the older boy, earned
his bread by farming, and the younger son tended sheep.†

2.the
offerings of the sons (vv. 3-5): Sacrifices seem to constitute an integral part
of worship from the earliest stages of human development.† Cain, the farmer, brought a grain offering,
and Abel brought a sacrifice from his flocks.†
Hebrews 11:4,6 reveals that Abel offered his worship in faith;
therefore, the Lord received the gift Abel brought.† Cain, on the other hand, was a profane and
ungodly man, and God refused his sacrifice.

3.the
murder of Abel (vv. 6-16): Cain, full of envy and anger, struck down his
righteous brother.† Who was the target of
Cainís rage?† At first glance, one might
conclude that Cainís anger raged at Abel; after all, the wicked man struck his
brother a violent blow and killed him.†
However, we might consider that Cain really aimed his rage at God.† Of course Cain could not strike out at God;
so, he murdered Abel.† The murderous son
compounds his sin by feigning ignorance of the violent deed and lying to God
(What a fruitless endeavor!).† The Lord
placed an additional curse on the ground, for Cainís sake, and condemned the
violent man to a rootless, nomadic life; nevertheless, God showed mercy to Cain
by protecting him from any acts of vengeance for the murder of Abel.

B.The
descendants of Adam and Eve (vv. 17-26)

1.the
descendants of Cain (vv. 17-24): This section is difficult.† The Bible does not tell us about Cainís wife;
nor does it reveal the origins of the inhabitants of the city Cain would
found.† God was merciful to Cain. The
Lord not only spared his life, but he blessed him with a wife and
children.† The descendants of Cain
achieved a great deal: advancement in husbandry, music, and metallurgy; yet,
they also introduced polygamy and continued the murderous ways of their
forefather.

2.the
descendants of Seth (vv. 25-26): The Bible does not tell us much about Seth,
but we surmise that he, in a sense, replaced godly Abel.† Sethís family will continue the legacy of
calling on the name of the Lord. The story of Sethís family will continue in
Chapter Five.